Class Updates: 12/20/12 and 12/21/12

Yesterday in class (12/20/12) the class split up into two groups. One group learned about the Battle of Vicksburg and the other group learned about the Battle of Gettysburg. We used our devices and textbooks to answer questions and find information, after we put everything on billboard. Today (12/21/12) we didn’t have class due to the Christmas assembly.

Class Updates: 12/18/12 and 12/19/12

In class yesterday (12/18/12) we learned about the writ of Habeas Corpus which is the right to not be imprisoned without just cause. President Lincoln stopped Habeas Corpus to keep the Union strong. Lincoln caused people to become imprisoned for speaking out against the Union, evading the draft, and anyone committing disloyal practices. Today in class (12/19/12) we reviewed Civil War battles and learned about the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation was created to gain a military advantage, it proclaimed all those enslaved in Confederate territory to be forever free.

Class Updates: 12/14/12 and 12/17/12

In class on Friday (12/14/12) we went to the computer lab. We worked on a series of questions as a class which we could later view, to help us complete an essay due this Friday. The essay question that we will be responding to is: Which side possessed the overall advantage at the start of the Civil War? Today in class (12/17/12) we had our second QR scavenger hunt! We went around the school and found the QR codes, we then scanned them with are smartphones and wrote down the descriptions/hints which helped us answer the questions. The scavenger hunt was on key battles of the Civil War. I think that reading the hints or descriptions of the battles and then figuring out which battle the hints matched up with is a great way of learning the battles, in a fun and easy way.

 

 

Class Updates: 12/11/12 and 12/12/12

Yesterday in class (12/11/12) we read primary source document about South Carolina’s secession from the Union. We answered questions about the primary source documents and had a discussion on the reasons why they thought they could secede.  Their main argument was that they had made an agreement with the other states, and they didn’t keep up with the agreement. When the other states broke the agreement South Carolina had the right to be a free independent state.

Today in class (12/12/12) we took notes by comparing the Constitution and the New Orleans Newspaper. The Constitution stated that the president was required to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.”  He must also enforce, or carry out all federal laws. The New Orleans Newspaper said Republicans saw slavery as a system of weakness.  The newspaper stated the Republicans would continue to work to demolish slavery, and the succession of the Confederacy was an act of self-defense. The southerners were now considered to have lost “their way of life.” The Newspaper truly discriminated Abraham Lincoln who refused to see the seceded states as actual countries.

Class Updates: 12/7/12 and 12/10/12

On Friday (12/7/12) we didn’t have class due to the half day. Today in class (12/10/12) we started are new unit on the Civil War. We received worksheets that were about Abraham Lincoln’s idea of “liberty to all”; he compared this to “silver settings” and an “apple of gold”. The “silver settings” represent the government which has the duty of protecting the “gold apples”. The gold apples represent the people who give the government power.

Class Updates and 30 day challenge: 12/5/12 and 12/6/12

Yesterday in class (12/5/12) we had an EdCafe on the 1850s most popular celebrities. It was very hard to convince people that David Wilmot was at the top. Although David Wilmot came up with the idea of the Wilmot Proviso which ended slavery in land acquired in the Mexican-American War, his proposal was rejected. Abraham Lincoln ended up winning the majority of votes in our class. Today in class (12/6/12) we had our test on the 1850s.

My 30 day challenge finished strong! I went for a jog last night before bed.

Timeline 3: Events for the 1850s

Class Update and goal: 11/30/12 and 12/3/12

In class on Friday (11/30/12) we had a substitute teacher. We received a packet which talked about several political scenarios which could have caused the south to break away. Today in class (12/3/12) we discussed a political cartoon from the presidential election of 1860. The cartoon showed the two main candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas fighting over a map of the United States; they were particularly fighting over the western states.  The Political cartoon also showed John Bell trying to glue the map back together while John Breckinridge handed it up to him.  

My 30 day challenge isn’t going to well. I don’t want to go for a jog tonight because I have hockey in the morning and I don’t want to be achy for my second practice of the season. I will definitely go for a jog tomorrow night.